Nematic liquid crystals (N-LCs) are one-dimensionally ordered fluids commonly formed by rod-shaped molecules. The response of a nematic liquid crystal (N-LC) to an applied electric field is an important property used in many device and display applications. (Tarumi et al., “Recent liquid crystal material development for active matrix displays,” Ann. Rev. Mater. Sci., 1997, 27, 423-441.) The ability of the director (parallel to the long molecular axis for a rod-like N-LC) to align along an external field is caused by, for example, the electric nature of the molecules. In the absence of external perturbations, the director of an N-LC is free to assume any orientation, but may be forced to point into a specific direction using planar (Toney et al., “Near-surface alignment of polymers in rubbed films,” Nature, 1995, 374, 709-711) or homeotropic alignment layers (Sorin, The surface physics of liquid crystals, 1995, Gordon & Breach, Luxembourg). Depending on, for example, initial alignment conditions, sign of the dielectric anisotropy, as well as electric field direction and strength, different director configurations can be induced. (Frisken et al., “Freedericksz transition in nematic liquid crystals: The effects of an in-plane electric field,” Phys. Rev. A, 1989, 40, 6099-6102 and Wang et al., “Correlations between liquid crystal director reorientation and optical response time of a homeotropic cell,” J. Appl. Phys., 2004, 95, 5502-5508.) This may be used to create a potential impact on current LC display technologies and N-LC optical biosensor design.